Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-12
By WILLIAM PITTENGER. A MEMBER OF THE EXPEDITION.
Copyrighted, 1887, by War Publishing Co.,, N.
 and published by arrangement with them. l

Y.,
 and published by arrangement with them.l
 I could feel men around me and hear their breathing in the darkness, so that knew the den was crowded full. Though it was night and cool outside, the heat here was more than that of tropic noon, and the precipitation soon oozed from every pore. The feted air and the stench made me for time deadly sick, and, worst of all, there was an almost unbearable sense of suffocation. I wondered if it could be possible that they would leave human be- ings in such place till death came in this horrible fOrm-death which could not be long delayed. I thought of the Black Hole of Calcutta, where so many English men were suffocated in one terrible night by a savage East Indian; had heard of negroes being burned alive or whipped to death in our own south; but these horrors were always, supposed, meant as ven geance for some fiendish outrage. Yet of all the forms of death, that by slow suffo- cation had always appeared most dreadful, and this now seemed imminent.
 As had been brought to this place in the dark, knew nothing of it's character, and after the first moment of stupefaction, resolved to explore it's size and nature. No one of my companions had yet spoken to me or to them. Whether they were black or white, soldiers or citizens, chained like myself, or with the free use of their hands, l could not tell, and I scarcely liked to ask, lest the answer should add new misery. jambed my way through the living throng to the wall and felt along it to learn if there was door or win dow. There was no door, the only en- trance to the fearful place being by the trap door down which I came. Neither were there any windows, but found two holes in the wall, opposite each other, each little more than a foot square, and filled with three rows of iron bars. The walls, as could be told at the holes, were very thick, being made of an inner case of oak logs and a brick wall outside. Even in day time, these holes gave little light, for one was close under the outside stair way already described, and the other be- low the level of the ground. Yet little air could come through the thick set bars, and served to revive me-making it pos sible to endure life here for a short time
 When the first shock had passed and became partially inured to the terrible oppression of the atmosphere, tried to ascertain something of the condition of my companions. The most fearful de- scription of this place of torment that can be given is contained in the plain cold figurcs-the number of the prisoners and the size and manner of their lodging. Be- fore I entered there were fourteen white men and one negro. This evening the number was increased to nineteen and soon after to twenty two, at which point it remained for many days. The room was just thirteen feet square, and about the same ill height. These numbers are not approximations, but are meant to b7 accepted exactly and literally. The entire furniture of the room consisted of four buckets for water and slops! And here twenty-two men had to remain day and night, with no respite, and no power to leave the room for any purpose, for more than two weeks! It was possible, as will be seen by reference to the accompanying sketch, for all to lie down at once; but it required the incest fitting and no small degree of crowding. There were two rows of ten persons each, occupying the space of thirteen feet, and two persons could rest between the feet of the rows. But when one turned, all in his row were obliged to turn ikewise; and as all were chained in some manner, the crowding, the eXclamations, and the clanking of chains in the black darkness of this dun geon presented-especially at night-as good a representation of the realms of the lost as has ever been known.